ESPO rejects the proposal of the EU commission to raise the threshold for the insertion of the ports in the net TRIES total



Yesterday the ministers of the Transports of the 27 States of the European Union have met to Gödöllö, in Hungary, with the vice president of the EU commission, Siim Kallas, and with the president of the commission TRAN of the European Parliament, Brian Simpson, in order to discuss about the review of the transeuropea net of transport IT TRY in sight of the legislative proposal in matter that the EU commission intends to be left over within the next summer.

"This review of politics for the transeuropea net of the transports - it has found Siim Kallas - reaches in a crucial moment for Europe. It will represent an indispensable contribution if we want that the European enterprises continue to being competitive and that the transport is more sustainable; and we will need to connect the part effectively western oriental and of the Union if we want that all the Member States have approached full load at the market internal".

In the course of the encounter the ministers have confirmed the necessity to develop a wide total infrastructural net and meanwhile to concentrate the efforts on strategic a main net all-important. Moreover a wide consent on the fact is reached that the deficiency of resources financial institutions determined from the current economic crisis does not involve necessarily that over the long term the extension of the net TRIES must be reduced.

Sul forehead of the financings the ministers have favorably received the intention of the Commission to continue to put on deep communitarian for the development of the total net. Moreover innovative instruments of financing are examined that to stimulate the inflow of private capitals, even if it is emphasized that such financial instruments cannot constitute neither a systematic solution neither a general alternative to the resources guaranteed from the States or to the financings granted from the European Union.

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has commented the outcomes of the ministerial encounter in Hungary having found as the ports carry out a fundamental role in the new approach for TRY to them, but advancing however reserves on how with which the ports they would be inserted in the wide transeuropea total net.

The document of job of the Commission - it has found the association of the European ports - delineates a series of criteria in order to select the ports gateways that would have to take part of the future main net TRY. These primary ports would have to enliven a annual traffic pairs at least to 1% of the volume total of goods helter-skelter that are not helter-skelter enlivened in all the European ports. ESPO has observed as, on the base of the average of the last Eurostat data available, this would correspond not helter-skelter to a volume of minimal the annual traffic of 24,34 million tons of goods or helter-skelter 13,41 million tons of goods. However the ports that do not satisfy at least one of these requirement correlated to the traffic volume could have other keys of access to the main net TRY.

"To have a main net - it has agreed the general secretary of ESPO, Patrick Verhoeven - it is necessary if we want true politics for IT TRY to them. We are estimating the impact of the proposed criteria in order to see which are the ports that would be included. They are however necessary ulterior clarifications as the interaction between the criteria of traffic and other criteria are not simple".

If ESPO with the need agrees to characterize Core Network of TRIES and the ports, it is not at all in agreement instead on how of selection of the ports to include in the net IT TRY total. Regarding the net IT TRY total - it has explained the association - the Commission proposes to include all the ports that annually enliven a traffic pairs at least to a thousandth of the medium volume total enlivened in all the European ports, is of goods helter-skelter that not, or the traffic of passengers. Practically - it has specified the association - this would determine the inclusion of all the ports that annually enliven a minim of 2,43 million tons of goods helter-skelter, 1,34 million tons of goods not helter-skelter or 411,223 passengers. This - it has emphasized ESPO - is a threshold very more elevated regarding that which it is applied in the within of the current lines guides of IT TRY, that is to say a traffic goods annual total of 1,5 million fleeting tons or a annual traffic of 200.000 units.

"We cannot agree - therefore it has concluded Verhoeven - with the proposal of the Commission to increase the threshold for the total net. It is impossible to explain to those ports that satisfy the current criteria that in future would come totally excluded from TRY. Our support for the selection of the ports to insert in the main net always is subordinated to have of an immense net of base that, a priori, comprises all the engaged marine ports in the international traffic. Therefore we turn a fort appeal see again the relative criteria to the ports for the total net, so that it can be at least continued to apply the current threshold".